Cheese-cutter.



PATENTED OCT. 22, 1907.

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No. 868,660, PATENTED OCT. 22, 1907'. G. M. HANSEN CHEESE CUTTER.

APILIOATIOH FILED AUG. 8, 1906.

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PA'TENTED OCT. 22, 1907.

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CHARLES M. HANSEN, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

CHEESE-CUTTER.

Specification of Letters IPatent.

Patented Oct. 22, 1907.

Application filed August 8, 1906. Serial No. 329,729.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES M. HANSEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cheese-Gutters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in cheesecutters, and its object is the production of a cutter which is simple, accurate, and easy to manipulate.

The invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts to-be hereinafter described and more particularly pointedout in the appended claims.

In the drawings,-Figure 1 is a perspective View of my improved cheese-cutter. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on line uu, Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a central vertical section of the cutter. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on line oo, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken on line ww, Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line r-x, Fig. 2. Fig.

'7 is a vertical section taken on line yy, Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrow crossing said line. Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line z-z,- Fig. 2. Reierring to the drawings in detail, like numerals of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

The reference numeral 1 designates the casing comprising a lower cheese-compartment 2, and a knifecompartment 3 and hoop-compartment 4 above the cheese-compartment. The wall between the knife and cheese-compartments is provided with a slot 5 for a purpose to appear presently. The side of the hoopcompartment is provided with a door 6. The rear and side walls of the lower compartment are glazed to show the contents, while the front wall is provided with small side openings 7. fitted with screening for proper ventilation, and a large center opening 8. The bottom and top walls of the lower or cheesecompartment are extended at the front and curved, as at 9, and secured to said walls in any suitable manner are curved doorguides 10, on which slide two curved glazed doors 11 adapted to slide in opposite directions; said doors serving to open or close the large center opening in the front wall which is of a size to permit the largest cheese to be easily placed within the casing.

Secured to the bottom of the casing is a metallic socket 12 into which fits a trunnion 13 depending from the center of a ratchetavheel 14 to which a wooden disk 15 is secured. Said ratchet-wheel and disk constitute the cheese-support which rides on rollers 16 mounted in brackets secured to the bottom of the casing.

As shown in Fig. 2, the upper face of the cheese-support is provided with concentric circles 17, which are preferably cut into the wooden disk. These circles serve as a means to center the cheese 18 on the support so that the axis of both are coincident. Projecting upward from the support are spurs 19 which become embedded in the cheese and retain the same in proper position. The cheese-support is reduced in diameter through a portion of its thickness to provide a peripheral ledge 20, and fitting around said reduced portion is one of a series of metallic hoops 21 receiving support from said ledge. Said hoop (as well as each of the remaining hoops of the series which are stored in the hoop-compartment of the casing, as shown in Fig. 4) is provided at its upper edge with a series of notches 22 spaced equi-distantly around the same.

The bottom of the casing is provided with a circular depression 23 having a diameter somewhat larger than that of the cheese-support, and in this depression the supporting rollers.16 and socket 12 are located. By this arrangement the upper surface of the cheese-support is only slightly above the elevated surface of the bottom.

Fulcrumed on the trunnion 13 is a radially disposed operating-lever 24 having an upturned outer end which passes through a curved and slotted plate 25 secured to the bottom of the casing. Underneath said plate, the bottom is cutaway, as at 26, to permit the outer end of the operating-lever to be moved back and forth underneath the same. The outer extremity of said lever is provided with a finger-grip 27 for conveniently operating said lever. Near the outer end of the operatinglever is arranged a socket or barrel 28, in which is movably held a slide-bolt 29 adapted to be projected from the socket or barrel for engagement with the ratchetrim of the wheel 14 by a spring 30 surrounding said bolt and acting against the enlarged end 31 thereof. A spring-controlled detent pawl 32 is pivotally secured to plate 25 and is adapted for co-action with the notched peripheral hoop of the cheese-support, as shown in Figs. 2 and 8.

33 designates guides secured to one of the side Walls of the knife-compartment, and reciprocal in said guides is a knife-carrier 34 comprising a rectangular frame having a gear-rack 35. To the lower end of said carrier the cutting-knife 36 is secured which normally projects with its lower sharpened end through the slot in the wall dividing the cheese-compartment from the knife-compartment; the inner edge of said knife being coincident with the axis of the cheese-support, and the knife being arranged to cut into the cheese on said support in a direct radial line.

A segment-gear 37 is mounted on a spindle 38 and meshes with gear-rack 35 of the knife-carrier. Pro

jecting from said segment-gear is a stud 39 which extends out through a curved slot 40 in the casing and enters a longitudinal slot 4-1 in the operating-lever 42 located outside of the casing. Said lever is pivotally secured to a bolt 43 positioned in rear of and slightly beneath spindle 38. In order to close the slot 40 in the casing, a segmental closure 44- is secured to spindle 38 and is actuated by stud 39 which passes through an aperture 45 therein. closure is twice as long as the slot which it closes, and therefore keeps the latter closed at all times, thus preventingdust entering the knife-co]npartment.

By the use of a series ofdetachable notched hoops having. a different number of notches in each, a cheese of any weight can be cut into segmental slices of pound woight or quarter-pound or half-pound weight. For exaniple,-a cheese weighing ten pounds, can be cut into segmental-slices weighing each one-quarter pound or multiples. thereof; by using a hoop having forty notches therein; a cheese weighing fifteen pounds can be cut intosegmental slices of such weight by using a hoop having sixty notches. \Vhen one-quarter pound is wanted, it is only necessary to rotate the cheese-support the distance between two adjacent notches, and when more than one-quarter pound is wanted, the cheese-support is rotated accordingly, an additional notch being allowed for each additional quarter-pound. Whatever the weight of the cheese may be, a hoop having four times the number of notches the cheese weighs in pounds is required to cut the cheese into quarter-pounds as the minimum weight; while twice the number of notches the cheese weighs in pounds are required when the minimum weight is-to be one-half pound.

The operation'of my improved cheese-cutter is as follows:The first segmental slice of cheese cut is done by two operations of the knife; but after the first slice is cut'only one operation'of the knife is required. The initial cut is made by pulling the operating-lever 42 down which causes the knife to be lowered against the cheese, the knife being forced through the cheese to make a radial cut, after which the knife is elevated by returning the lever to its normal-position. The detent pawl 32 is then disengaged from the notched hoop with one hand, and lever Z tnroved to revolve the cheese support: to bring the next or any other notch in the hoop in -line with the detent, which latter is then releasedfor engagement with said notched hoop. The knife is next lowered and forced to make a radial cut through the cheese, after which the segmental slice may be removed. After the first slice is removed, the cheese-support may. be revolved to any desired extent and .a single radial'cut will sever the amount or weight of cheese desired.

Various changes in form, construction, and arrange ment may. be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is,

1. In a cheese-cutter, the combination of a rotatable cheese-support, means for rotating said support, a series 01' hoops, any one of which may be held to said support The segmental portion 4-6 of said volving and each having equal divisions designated thereon differing from the divisions of the other hoops of the series, actuating means for engagement with the hoop held to said support. and :1 cutting-knife supported to cut the cheese into segments corresponding in size to a division of the hoop held to the support or any multiple of such division.

2. In a cheese-cutter, the combination of a rotatable che support. means for rotating said support to any desired extent, a series of hoops adapted for cooperation with the cheesosupport, each hoop having a series of notches spaced equidistantly around the same, the notches of each hoop being spaced differently from those of the other hoops. a detent adapted for co-action with the notches of the hoop cooperating with the cheese-support, and a cutting-knife positioned to cut the cheese from the center to the outer edge.

Ii. In a cheese-cutter, the combination with a casing, a cheese support rotatable in the casing, mechanism to 1'0 tale the support and govern the extent of rotation into equal divisions or to multiples of one of such divisions, a vertically movable knife'carrier having a cutting-knife se cured thereto and provided with a gear-rack, a segmentgear meshing with said gearraek, pivotally aflixed to the casing and having a slot between its ends, and a stud ,securedto said segment-gear and entering said slot.

4. In a eheese cutter, the'combination with a casing, a cheese-support rotatable in the casing, mechanism to rotate the support and govern the extent of rotation into equal divisions or to multiples of one of such divisions, a vertically movable knife-carrier Within the casing having a cutting-knife secured thereto and provided with a gearruck, :1 segment-gear also within the casing meshing with said goal-rack, a lever outside the casing pivotally secured at one end and having a slot between its ends and a stud projecting from the segment-gear and extending through the Wall of the casing, said stud entering the slot in said lever.

5. The combination with the casing having a curved slot, a cheese-support within said casing, means for revolving said support, a vertically reciprocating knifec.-1rrier within the casing having a knife secured thereto and provided with a gear-rack, a. segment-gear also within the casing and in mesh with said gear-rack, an operatinglever outside of the casing and pivotally attached thereto, said lever having a longitudinal slot between its ends, a stud projecting from the segment-gear and passing through the curved slot in the casing, said stud entering the slot in the operating-lever, and a movable closure within the casing serving to keep the curved slot therein closed.

0. The combination with the casing having a curved slot, at cheesesupport within said casing, means for re said support, a vertically reciprocating knifecurrier within the casing having a knife secured thereto and provided with a gear-rack, a segment-gear also within the casing and in mesh with said gear-rack, an operatinglever outside 01' the casing and pivot-ally attached thereto, said lever having a longitudinal slot between its ends, :1 stud projecting from the segment-gear and passing through the curved slot in the casing, said stud entering the slot in the 'operating lever, and an oscillating segmental closure-having its axis coincident with the axis of the segineiit..-ilgear and the stud of the latter passing therethrough.

T. In a cheese-cutter, the combination with the casing cheese'coiupartinent to cut the cheese into slieesby radialv cuts.

an operating-handlel tO S. In a cheese-cutter, the combination with the casing, I said knife being positioned to cut the cheese by radial 10 of a rotatable cheese-support having notches at its periphery, rollers secured to the bottom of the casing on which said support rides, a ratchebrim, a. lever having a pawl engaging said ratchet-rim, a slotted guide-segment through which said lever extends, a detentpawl adapted to engage any one of the peripheral notches of the sup port, and a cnttingpknil'e above the support and having its inner edge coincident with the axis of said support,

cuts.

In testimony whereof, I have afiixed my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES M. HANSEN.

Witnesses:

EMIL NEUHART, CnnIs'r Fnnvnn. 

